Kieran’s Notes from the back corner : September 8th is International Literacy Day! And September is National Library Card Sign Up Month! While I know it seems they have a ‘day’ or ‘month’ for everything now, I wanted to bring a few of these days to your attention. Oh yeah, and school started… the most important school supply you can get a child is a library card.

See, more than 780 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and between 94 and 115 million children lack access to education. The National Center for Education Statistics study from 2003 says that 12% of the folks in Fremont County are lacking basic prose literacy skills. (I really ought to stop reading these reports and statistics, my brain may pop… maybe a nice fiction book for my vacation…. hmm… I need a nice long one for the flight.)

By motivating children to read, libraries create lifelong readers, and that makes for more knowledgeable and informed citizens, and that makes for a healthier democracy. Oh, and of course, kids who read do better in school. Right, so, help a kid get a library card, or help them learn fiscal responsibility by getting their library card free of fines (I am sure you can think of suitable age appropriate chores for them).

While the kid is slaving away mowing your lawn for a nickel, you can stop at the library and get a nice long fiction book that you can read in your lawn chair on the newly mowed lawn while you sip lemonade before the snow flies. Remember to stop by the back corner and we can look at the pictures I took of other libraries while I was on my vacation, or we can talk about travel books and the libraries of the world I would love to see someday!

I had met the director of the Elbert County Library District at a conference in Pueblo last spring.  She was talking about eBook readers.  Those are the electronic devices, like the Kindle or the Nook or the Ipad, that people are using to read books.  Quite a few public libraries in Colorado have a service, called Overdrive, that lets folks download eBooks just like they were borrowing a regular book from the library shelves.  However, Overdrive and some eReaders have some compatibility issues; they don’t all play nicely together.  DRM (Digital rights management) is a generic term for access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices.  Basically DRM is what keeps a Kindle owner from buying an electronic book from anyone but Amazon.  (Kind of like back in the day when a video tape was either VHS or Beta… or I suppose now it is DVD and Blue Ray or how Mac stuff doesn’t work on Windows things and vice versa.)  Kindle doesn’t play well with Overdrive.  Ipods and Overdrive can play together but need supervision.

I am bringing this up because there is a good chance the John C. is going to provide Overdrive or something similar next year…. and I would love to talk to you all about the whole eBook thing – what you have, what you want, what you imagine.  I have just purchased an eReader myself an am excited to see how it fits into my reading habits.  I like physical books a bunch, but am excited to subscribe to eMagazines and the like.

Some folks see the eReader phenomenon as the death knell for libraries and I really disagree.  How we use an integrate technology into our lives is an evolution, and if radio, television and the internet haven’t killed off reading, library use and book sales somehow I think we will be just fine.  Stop by my little corner of the library and let me know what you think about eReaders and the the future of libraries!

This class on beading is recommended for ages 8 to 16 as the beads we will be using are small and the designs are a bit more challenging.

Materials will be supplied.

Please feel free to bring your shark stuffed animal or wear a shark shirt! Also anything that starts with the letter S may be worn or brought.

Ahoy, me mateys!

We will be dressing up Pirate Pete, learning how to become a Pirate, and becoming a Pirate with eye patches, Pirate Hats we make and our own Piratey Spy Glasses!

Please feel free to bring your Pirate Garb and Sea faring Friends! Also anything that starts with the letter P may be worn or brought.

Please feel free to bring your stuffed sea animal or wear a Oceany shirt! Also anything that starts with the letter Omay be worn or brought.

Join us for the first after school teen group of the year! This first teen group meeting we will talk about what teen group is, hand out some information, and play Icebreaker Bingo.

Teen Group is open to teens in grades 6th through 8th.

It runs from 2:10 pm until 3:10 pm.

We will have fun being locked in the library after hours!

Games, movie, crafts and much, much more will be available to do during this program!

Must Register for program at the Library.

Bring a pillow and blanket for watching a movie and be prepared to have some fun!

When: September 25th
Where: John C. Fremont Library
Time: 3:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Who: Students in grades 6-12

Kieran’s Notes from the back corner: As I type this, it is the 90th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the United States. While some states had allowed women to vote conditionally, it was the passing of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that established women’s right to vote federally. People in our country struggled to have their say in government, and as I pass our local candidate for US House pulling weeds in the library parking lot, I know that libraries are a part of the bigger picture of civic engagement. Thomas Jefferson once said, “No nation can remain both ignorant and free.” The people who fought for our democracy were aware of the importance of knowledge and free access to information and culture. Shoot, even the writers of Seinfeld, in “The Library” episode, had the basics (with humor) of what the freedom to read can do for the future :

“Let me tell you something, funny boy… You know that little stamp? The one that says New York Public Library? Well, that may not mean anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole helluva lot. Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I’ve seen your type before — flashy, making the scene, flaunting convention. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking… Why’s this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me…. Maybe. Sure, we’re too old to change the world. What about that kid, sitting down, opening a book right now in a branch of the local library and finding pictures of pee-pees and wee-wees in The Cat in the Hat and The Five Chinese Brothers. Doesn’t he deserve better? Look, if you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you’d better think again. This is about that kid’s right to read a book without getting his mind warped. – Lt. Bookman”

In this past primary election about 35% of the registered voters sent in a ballot. There are three referenda for voters statewide this coming November 2. If passed, each will impact our library revenues dramatically and negatively. The proposals are known as Amendment 60, Amendment 61, and Proposition 101. These Bruce ballot issues will amend the state constitution and set law to severely cut taxes and slash revenues for nearly all public entities in Colorado, including our library. Yes, passing the Bruce referenda will cut taxes. For example, the average automobile owner currently pays an average of $2.76 annually in Fremont County to support libraries. If Bruce’s Proposition 101 passes, this will be reduced to an average of $0.05 per year. I should point out that I am neither advocating for nor recommending against Bruce’s Amendment 60, Amendment 61, and Proposition 101. However, it is my job to provide facts about the state of the library and to guarantee the best possible library services with the revenues provided. So, why is this guy ‘making such a big stink’ about old library books, DVDs, and music? Because it is a big hairy deal and we the people need to use our right to vote to fund the right to read a book. Come by the back corner and we can talk about taxes and how the effect our whole society.

Each month the group will read the selected book then get together and discuss the book.

Where: John C. Fremont Library

Who: Students in grades 6-12

September’s Book: Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow